Kotaku’s Jason Schreier is back with another amazing article dedicated to Bioware’s games. The main focus of the article is on Anthem, which, according to Kotaku’s sources, is in for a large overhaul. The latest title of Bioware, Anthem faced a rocky launch and many players and journalists alike had wondered if the company is going to cut its losses, abandon the game and move on. But the opposite seems to be true.
Anthem is not the first game to face a shaky start – both Final Fantasy XIV and No Man’s Sky failed spectacularly in the beginning but have been retooled and came back stronger than ever.
However, for me personally the most important part of the article was the last paragraph that confirms that The Dread Wolf is indeed Rising and mentions a new Mass Effect title in very early development:
BioWare, meanwhile, is still invested in role-playing games. In addition to the much-anticipated Dragon Age 4, which BioWare teased last year, a new Mass Effect game is in very early development at the Edmonton office under director Mike Gamble, a longtime BioWare producer.
Can it be? Just a couple of weeks back during the N7 day I have mentioned (or, rather, complained) about the lack of news on the Mass Effect front. Of course, being in “very early development” means that we will not be seeing nor hearing about the game for quite a while yet, but knowing that Bioware is actually considering another ME title is worth it.
That brings us to the next question: what can it possibly be?
On February 11th, 2019, Bioware’s Mark Darrah participated in an interview with Polygon and said the following:
“We’re definitely not done with Mass Effect. There’s a lot of stories to be told. We could pull on the threads we put down with Andromeda; we could pull on threads from Mass Effect 3. There’s a lot of interesting space to be explored.”
Based on that, the most obvious directions for this unknown game could be:
- Mass Effect Andromeda sequel. While not particularly welcomed by the fans of the franchise, Andromeda left a lot of story hooks for a possible sequel. Who is the mysterious Benefactor? What happens with the Quarian Ark Keela Si’yah? Who are the Kett? What are the origins of the Scourge? Why did the Jardaan create the Angara and the flora and fauna of the cluster? Where did the Jardaan go and what happened to them? And, finally, there is the story of Ryder’s mother – and the shaky link to the Reapers through Alec Ryder’s memories.
- Mass Effect Trilogy spin-off/prequel. While I am among those people who want to see more of Commander Shepard (possibly in a remake/remaster!), it seems more logical that a potential game could be set in the timeline set either during the events of the trilogy or before them. For example, the First Contact War featuring young Anderson and humanity’s first steps among the other races of the galaxy. There is also the entire matter of the Dark Energy that we encounter on Haestrom – and then never again.
- Mass Effect Trilogy sequel. While incredibly unlikely as it would require Bioware to choose a proper “canon” ending to the saga of Commander Shepard, a sequel to the trilogy is not completely off the table.
- A completely new game. Similarly to what Andromeda tried to do, it is possible that a new game could try to start with a blank slate – perhaps taking place in a distant corner of the Milky Way with little to no ties to the events of the trilogy or Andromeda.
What are your thoughts? Would you like to return to the Normandy and take off alongside Wrex, Liara, Garrus, Tali, and others or do you seek new adventures beyond the horizon?
